Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Invests $12.59 Million in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. invested approximately $12.59 million in Franklin Electric Co., acquiring 134,132 shares during the first quarter.
• Franklin Electric reported an EPS of $1.31 for the quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share.
• The board of Franklin Electric has initiated a share buyback program allowing for the repurchase of 1.2 million shares, indicating potential confidence in the company's current valuation.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 134,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $12,592,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Franklin Electric at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 105.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,390,000 after buying an additional 13,075 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 340.2% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 48,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,555,000 after purchasing an additional 37,496 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 81.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,997 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,798,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total transaction of $983,829.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $801,003.13. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 1.6%

FELE traded down $1.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.27. 30,744 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 260,188. The company's fifty day moving average price is $94.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.72. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.87 and a fifty-two week high of $111.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.07.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Franklin Electric declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and distributes water and fuel pumping systems worldwide. The company operates through Water Systems, Fueling Systems, and Distribution segments. The Water Systems segment offers submersible motors, drives, pumps, electronic controls, water treatment systems, monitoring devices, and related parts and equipment.